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| Denied (Re: Crossrail gets Treasury backing (was Re: London's five-year plan)) (10663) | |||
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Denied (Re: Crossrail gets Treasury backing (was Re: London's five-year plan)) |
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Posted by David Fairthorne on Wed Oct 20 13:51:29 2004, in response to Crossrail gets Treasury backing (was Re: London's five-year plan), posted by David Fairthorne on Sun Oct 17 00:51:11 2004. ic The Wharf reports that the Treasury denies the Crossrail funding rumour.CROSSRAIL TALKS STILL ON TRACK Oct 21, 2004 Renato Castello THE Treasury has rejected reports it has scrapped private backing to underwrite the £10billion Crossrail project. Crossrail spokesperson Ian Rathbone insisted that the Treasury was still in talks with private partners to fund the east-west railway. "Rumours this week that the Government will underwrite the project if it can not be funded are definitely not true," he said. "Discussions are still ongoing for an equitable arrangement." The Independent on Sunday reported that Crossrail would not seek a public-private partnership for the scheme. Mr Rathbone said: "Whether the Government actually pays for it has not been settled yet." The Treasury is struggling to get private backing for the project, which will link Canary Wharf with Heathrow - giving Wharfers a 35 minute link to the airport. The Treasury is willing to stump up £2bn, with the rest coming from a three per cent rise in business rates, Council Tax and possible borrowing under the Mayor Ken Livingstone's new powers. The project suffered a blow in September when major developers including Canary Wharf Group rejected a levy against a rise in property prices as a result of the east-west line. Meanwhile, Crossrail is under increasing pressure to rethink the location of key East London stations. Newham Council is lobbying the Crossrail team against a station at Custom House and Greenwich Council has launched a campaign for a station at Woolwich Arsenal. Newham, with the backing of London City Airport and ExCeL, is against Crossrail's proposed Royal Dock's branch earmarked for the present DLR Custom House station. The council warns that the station would not provide strong enough links with major attractions including ExCeL, the Aquarium and the London City Airport and wants the station at Prince Regent. |
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